Kiwi Mango - Sparkling Water Kefir 250ml | Belly Dance

Tropical and fresh, built on apple, guava and lemon juice. Nine calories a can.

Water kefir is made by fermenting sugar water with live kefir grains. The fermentation eats most of the sugar, which is how these come in low on sugar and calories without a sweetener in sight, and it leaves the dry, faintly sour base that makes them taste like a grown-up soft drink rather than a squash.

The fruitiest of the range and the one that tastes most like a holiday. Nearly a quarter of the can is fruit juice, which is unusual for something this low in sugar, and the guava gives it a softness that the lemon then cuts straight back through.

• Fermented with live cultures, not sweetened to imitate one
• Style: Sparkling water kefir
• Flavour: Ripe mango, guava, sharp lemon finish
• Format: 250ml can
• Dietary: Vegan, dairy-free, caffeine-free, low sugar, no sweeteners

Ingredients

Sparkling water, water kefir (filtered water, organic kefir cultures, organic sencha green tea extract, organic raw cane sugar), fruit juices from concentrate (24%) (apple, guava, lemon), natural flavourings, live cultures (bacillus clausii, bacillus subtilis, lactic acid bacillus).

FAQs

Is water kefir the same as milk kefir?
No. Water kefir uses different cultures and no dairy at all, so it is vegan and much lighter - closer to a soft drink than to a yoghurt drink.

Does it contain alcohol?
No. Fermentation can leave trace amounts, but these are sold and labelled as soft drinks and sit below the threshold.

What do the live cultures do?
They are the bacteria left over from fermentation. Plenty of people drink kefir for gut health reasons, though no specific health claim is being made here.

Belly Dance was started by Hannah Calder and Harriet Armston-Clarke, who met teaching yoga in east London and spent six months fermenting water kefir in Kilner jars before taking it any further. The brand won Start Up of the Year at the Free From Food Awards.